


Under Death's Loving Gaze

by DalishGreyWarden



Series: The Fae Chronicals [5]
Category: Original Work, Sons of Anarchy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:15:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24446440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DalishGreyWarden/pseuds/DalishGreyWarden
Summary: Nyx Walsh, a Death Fae, has been sent out to find the princesses of the other courts on orders of her mother, Queen Morrigan of the Court of Death. She's tasked with bringing them together to put an end to the Blood Court's reign of terror and destruction and she can't afford any distractions. Then her soulmate, Jax Teller, comes onto the scene and she finds herself spending more time with him than following her orders in uniting the Courts together to fight the Blood Court. Nyx quickly finds herself in a whirlwind of danger, human and Fae alike, and must navigate the dangerous territories of loving an outlaw and fighting her own war back in the Faelands.
Relationships: Chibs Telford/Original Female Character(s), Donna Winston/Opie Winston, Half-Sack Epps/Original Female Character(s), Happy Lowman/Original Female Character(s), Jax Teller/Original Female Character(s), Juice Ortiz/Original Female Character(s), Opie Winston/Original Female Character(s), Tara Knowles/Original Male Character(s)
Series: The Fae Chronicals [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764178
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

The Witchwoods were full of ghosts tonight, spirits crying out for help, begging for the help that would never come. It was my job to gather these lost souls and bring them back to my court, answering as many questions as I could before making sure they returned to their new home safely. It wasn’t an easy job to do, some spirits refused to cooperate while others wouldn’t stop crying or yelling at me as if it were my fault they had passed on, but I loved what I did because more often than not, they were grateful for my help. But tonight was striking me as odd with just how many fallen Fae were wandering the woods. I wasn’t sure if I could handle this all on my own.

“Easy boy, easy.” I soothed my nightmare, Abraxos, patting his soft neck gently. He nickered, soft flames shooting from his nostril, and tossed his head anxiously, prancing in place. The energy in the air was charged with something that was unsettling the normally stoic horse and I felt it too. The hair on my neck was standing on end as I continued to push through, gathering all of the spirits to me to send them off to the castle.

A low, croaking sound caught my attention and I saw my crow, Hel, come swooping through the dark towards me, my barn owl Jareth hot on her heels. I waited patiently for them to land on my shoulders, pleased to see my babies had returned from fetching others to help me gather the souls of the dead.

“There you are! You two did such a good job!” I cooed, placing gentle kisses on their heads. Hel croaked indignantly at me, hopping down to sit on Abraxos’ head while giving me the evil eye. “Oh I’m so sorry, Your Highness. I didn’t mean to offend you with my love.” I teased her.

“My lady, have you noticed how many of these Fae are from the Court of Stars and Court of Dreams?” One of the reapers asked, riding up next to me, his voice soft and full of concern.

“Yes, I have. There’s been quite a few Blood Court Fae as well. I think they finally stopped their infighting and turned their attention to the other two courts who openly opposed them. It doesn’t seem as if the Court of Bones is involved, though, so let’s count that as a blessing. Round up all of the Blood Court members you find, I wish to interrogate them when we return.” I instructed him, barely acknowledging him as he took off ahead of me, fading into the darkness. Since there were more reapers here, I turned Abraxos back towards home, nudging him to hurry so I could find out just what was going on.

~*~*~

“What do we do? We have last say in things like this, do we interfere?” Anubis leaned forward on the dark cherry wood table, a mug of coffee in his hand.

“We step in clearly. This is a mass culling that wasn’t scheduled. We’re facing a bigger influx of the dead than we were expecting.” Freya spoke up with an irritated look on her face. Anubis shot her a disgruntled glare, his lip curling slightly into a sneer.

“Leave it alone. What’s done is done, it’s not like we can do anything about it.” Thanatos, our resident asshole, snorted into his coffee, taking a leisurely drink of it and biting into a doughnut. “We can’t bring these people back, so I say we figure out where they belong and move on from there.”

Everyone broke out into a loud argument, talking over each other to try and argue their cases on why we should or shouldn’t interfere, the arguing quickly escalating to shouting matches, when a familiar clapping sound had everyone quickly shutting up and dropping to their chairs. Our Queen and my mother, Morrigan, was up on her feet now, looking over all of us with arched brows.

“You are all correct in a way. No, we cannot bring these people back, ‘tis true, but there are others out there who need to be protected. While we may not interfere directly, we can still watch out for them and guide them to safety. The Blood Court will face a reckoning that will shake the entirety of the Faelands, but until then, all we can do is guide the dead to their rightful places. Nyx, my darling daughter, I have an important task for you to undertake.” Mother turned her piercing black eyes towards me, beckoning me to follow her while dismissing the others. “I need you to go to the mortal realm and protect the princesses from the other courts. They’re going to need guidance and wisdom that you can provide them. The five of you will be the downfall of the Blood Court and I believe they know that. They’ll be gunning for these women hard but if they know they’re under the protection of the future Queen of the Dead Court, they’ll be far more hesitant to attack.”

I was taken aback and yet it made sense as I hadn’t seen Danica or Ashlyn, the princesses of the Star and Dream courts, amongst the dead in the Witchwoods. They may have already made it to the mortal realm, hiding from the assassins that the Blood Court no doubt sent after them.

“I understand. I’ll pack and make haste immediately.”

“Good. Keep me up to date with your progress.” Mother dismissed me, going to her crystal ball to keep watch as per usual. Anubis was waiting in the hallway for me, slipping his hand into mine as we walked towards my bedroom so I could begin to pack my things.

“What did she have to say?” His deep voice was soft yet still managed to echo in my room, startling me even though I was expecting it.

“I’m to go to the mortal realm to search for the other princesses. We’re going to be the Blood Court’s downfall. Or so mother predicts anyway.” I shrugged as I packed up the essentials.

“I see… So it’s possible that you’ll meet your mate then.” The disappointment read clearly in his words and I didn’t have to look at him to know his shoulders were dropped, his golden eyes full of pain at the thought.

“... ‘tis a possibility, yes,” I turned around, going over to him and cupping his face in my hands. “I care deeply about you Anubis, and I cherish what we have, but we both knew that I would one day meet my mate. I can feel our bond pulling at me every day, I can no longer ignore it.” I stood up on tiptoes to place a soft kiss to his cheek, smiling faintly as he pulled me to him in a tight embrace, his large hand rubbing my back.

“You’re right. I’m selfish and don’t want to let go of you yet, but you have to do what’s right for you. I will always love you, Nyx. Go, be a hero, I’ll be here rooting for you.” He gave me one last tight squeeze and left me to finish getting ready. Once I was sure I had everything, I headed out to the stables, taking Abraxos with me. Jareth and Hel were following right behind, making sure to stay as close as possible so they could be included in the adventure as well.

“Well… here we go. Off to the mortal realm.” I pulled the hood of my silken black cloak up over my head, nudged Abraxos, and rode off into the darkness of the silent Witchwoods, vanishing into the silvery fog and shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time I arrived in the mortal realm, I’d encountered even more Fae from the Court of Dreams and Court of Stars, these Fae still alive thank the Goddess. They spoke of a young man from the Blood Court and a small handful of others who had swooped in and rescued them, getting them out of danger, telling them to flee to the Winter Court or the Court of Ashes. I escorted them to the Winter Court, making sure they were safe and sound before continuing on my way, and now here I was in the mortal realm, getting Abraxos settled in at a stable run by a minotaur in disguise, and trying to decide my next move. I had to figure out where these women were hiding out, but without some sort of idea of the layout of this town, I was pretty much at a deadend.

“If you’re looking for a place to stay, there’s a hotel and spa run by a forest nymph named Ivy called the Celestial Hotel and Spa.” The minotaur rumbled as I finished signing the paperwork to keep Abraxos in the stable.

“Thank you, could you point me in the hotel’s direction please?” I handed him the paperwork after straightening it up and double checking to make sure everything was in order. He pointed me in the right direction and off I went, hoping that maybe the others were already there. I could only hope they were because otherwise I’d be wasting time hunting them down to figure things out.

_I still don’t see how five young adult Fae women are going to stop one of the oldest Fae women around from fucking everything up. Mother must have something up her sleeve that she’s holding onto that will help us in the long run._ I was used to my mother withholding knowledge and information until she was ready to be forthcoming with it, but it certainly got old pretty quickly. I understood her caution of wanting to keep information protected but sometimes I needed her to at least give me _something_ to work with.

“Whoa.” I had found the hotel the minotaur mentioned and stepped into the building, my jaw dropping at just how beautiful it was. It was definitely obvious a woodland nymph had been the one to make this place; there were flowers everywhere and it was built around a large oak tree that stood tall behind the front desk that seemed to have been formed from thick vines and a carpet of lush grass. As I approached the desk, the nymph behind the desk immediately looked nervous, her bright green eyes darting around anxiously as she tried to avoid looking at me.

“C-can I help you?” Her musical voice was strained when she spoke, clearly worried by my presence.

“I’m looking for a room? I swear I’m not here on business, I realize how rare it is for the living to see a Death Fae in person.” I tried to be reassuring as I spoke, not wanting to scare her anymore than it looked like I already had. The relief that washed over her was apparent as her shoulders dropped and the tension ebbed from her face.

“Of course! I apologize, I didn’t mean -”

“Don’t worry about it. I completely understand the worry. Usually we’re only seen outside of our court when we’re collecting souls, so I can only imagine what you were thinking. There’s really no need to apologize.” I cut her off, waving away the apology. She nodded and handed me a large obsidian key, jotting something down in her ledger.

“Here you go. Your suite is at the very top floor, I do hope it’s to your liking.” She murmured softly, still avoiding my gaze. I thanked her before going to the stairs and started walking, admiring the architecture as I walked up the spiral staircase, careful not to crush any of the flowers winding up along the bannister. I could hear sprites and pixies giggling among the flowers and darting around the bannister the higher up I went, the sound bringing a soft smile to my face. It was absolutely beautiful and teeming with life here, so vastly different from home where everything was bleak and well, dreary really.  
I finally reached the top floor, slightly surprised to see my room was the only one here, and unlocked the door, stepping into a room that was far larger than I was expecting it to be. I slowly walked across the ocean blue plush carpet, taking in the beauty of this room: the walls were painted to mimic the Court of Stars view of the night sky in summer, stars and constellations all over the walls and ceiling with a bright full moon delicately painted up there as well. The bed was king sized and made of a deep cherry wood, vines of ivy creeping up delicately around the posts of the canopy while silken silvery gauze draped down to give it an ethereal look. The flowers growing along the ivy were glowing softly, some of them a pale blue color while others were a soft white or silver, looking as if someone plucked stars from the sky and rested them here.

_Well I’ll be damned. This room is fit for a queen._ I carefully set my things down on the bed, eager to sit down for a short while and get some rest before going out to try and find the other women.

~*~*~

I found myself wandering the town, a coffee in hand, watching out for the other princesses, sipping at the caffeinated beverage quietly. So far nothing was standing out or catching my attention, although I was certainly getting some odd looks as I passed people by. Granted they probably weren’t used to seeing someone dressed in a “goth” style as the humans would call it, but it was all I had with me to wear. I paused momentarily by a cute antique store, admiring a rather pretty vanity set, when a loud noise startled me and I turned to look around to see what the hell was making that racket. Two men on motorcycles I believed they were called went racing past, the noise from the engines loud and rather unpleasant to my sensitive hearing, and my heart slowed when my eyes met a pair of beautiful baby blues that went wide as they passed by. Coming out of my daze as they continued on their way, I quickly followed after them, my heart beating against my ribcage as a swirl of emotions rushed through me.

_Can that really be him?_ I was almost jogging at this point, carefully weaving through people so I could try and keep up with the motorcyclist. I spotted the bikes pulling into an automotive shop and slowed to a walk, a quiet nervousness overtaking me when I got closer. What if this wasn’t who I thought it was? What if I was about to make a complete fool of myself? I chewed on my lower lip, coffee gripped tightly in my hand, and nearly gasped when the blue eyed hunk came around the corner, a grin lighting up his handsome face as he walked towards me.

“Jax?” I ventured after a moment of trying to find my voice, my nerves nearly getting the better of me. His grin broadened and he embraced me the second he got close enough to, the smell of cigarettes and metal clinging to his clothing making me wrinkle my nose a little as I hugged him back.

“I didn’t know you were coming here. Why didn’t you say anything?” He fished a small notebook out of his pocket, showing me his journal that held all of our conversations in it.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about it. It’s… a long story honestly. Do you have time to sit and talk for a while so I can catch you up on things?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the way I decided to do the soulmate thing for this series is each person has a different way of telling who their soulmate is. For Nyx and Jax, they had a journal that they could write back and forth to each other and get to know one another.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up making a couple changes to Danica's story to fit in with this chapter of Nyx's story, so if you've read Danica's third chapter, be sure to go back and read it again with the updates!

Jax and I were sitting in the clubhouse behind the auto shop, getting all caught up on everything going on in the Faelands, and he looked worried by the time I’d finished explaining what was going on with the Blood Court and Danica and Ashlyn’s courts.

“Shit that’s what happened to Danica?” He leaned back in his seat, shellshocked.

“Unfortunately yes. Do you know her?” I leaned forward on the table curiously, hoping he’d say yes.

“Yeah, I was with Juice when we rescued her. She’s his old lady or soulmate, whatever term you wanna go with.” He nodded with a troubled look on his face. I supposed this Juice and Danica hadn’t really spoken to him about anything that occurred.

“It’s important that I speak to Danica, is there any way to get us in contact?” I was hopeful he could help.

“Yeah, no problem darlin’. There’s Juice now, let’s go talk to him about going over to his place to check in with Danica.” Jax smiled, taking my hand in his and pressing a kiss to my knuckles. “Hey Juice! C’mere a second!”

Juice hung his phone up on his way over to see what was up, his eyes widening when he looked me over in surprise. “What’s up?” He tore his gaze away from me and back over to Jax, holding his phone tightly like he was worried about something.

“Nyx, this is Juice. Juice, this is my old lady, Nyx Walsh. She’s looking for Danica, she needs to talk to her about something. It’s pretty serious shit man.” Jax made quick introductions before telling Juice what was up. Worry flashed in his eyes at the mention of Danica’s people and he immediately jumped into protective soulmate mode.

“She’s not answering her phone. She might be sleeping since she’s still recovering but if you need to talk to her, let’s go check in on her.” Juice gave a nod and headed out to his bike, Jax and I hot on his heels. I was actually getting somewhere with finding the other princesses. Maybe this wouldn’t take as long as I thought it would to get everyone together.

“Oi Jax! Wait a second!” A Scottish accent called out, causing everyone to pause a second as an older man with the princess of the Court of Bones on his arm came walking out of the clubhouse.

“Hold on a sec, Juice.”

“A Death Fae, hm? It’s rare to see you outside of your court. Or, well, hear you in my case,” The white haired Fae held her hand out for me to shake. “It’s Nyx right? You can just call me Rusalka.”

“Rusalka? Odd, I thought it was Natalya?” I frowned, wondering if my information had been wrong. The name seemed to really startle her and she gaped at me for a full minute before the Scottsman leaned over and gently pushed her mouth shut.

“No, it was. Before I was unceremoniously tossed out on my ass, my mother stripped me of my name, I didn’t think anyone could say it.” She was in total awe and seemed close to tears.

“Death Fae don’t play by the same rules as the other courts. So unless you want me to call you Rusalka, I’ll stick to Nat or Natalya if that’s alright with you.”

“That’s perfect. Um… is what you said true? About the Blood Court attacking two of the other courts? We overheard everything and I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it.” Natalya was puzzled by the news, thrown off guard by my words.

“It’s true. Most of their people are gone. I’m actually getting ready to go speak with Danica to inform her that some of her people made it out of there. Once I talk to everyone, I want all of us to get together so we can start planning our next move. Something big is happening and we have to put an end to it.”

“Great, good luck trying to get Danica and the other one to work with Keres. They’re gonna hate it.” Nat grinned viciously at me and turned back to the clubhouse, informing her man that she was going to go drink again. I sighed softly, turning back to Jax with a shake of my head, and went back to our mission of going to speak with Danica.

~*~*~

We made it to the apartment Juice and Danica shared, Juice still in protective mate mode as he unlocked the door and went inside. Jax threaded his fingers through mine and led the way into the apartment right behind Juice, who was kissing Danica on the forehead, looking her over lovingly before stepping over to the fridge to grab a bite to eat.

“Hey you’re up! You didn’t answer your phone, so I thought you might still be sleeping.”

“Oh, sorry, I was looking for my cocoa butter for my scars,” Danica paused, turning her gaze towards me, her golden eyes getting as wide as saucers. “You’re Nyx, right? The princess of the Court of Death? I… I have a lot of questions… um… is it alright if we…?” She trailed off, biting her lip nervously. I nodded, a reassuring smile on my face as we walked into the living room, leaving the boys to talk in the kitchen.

“I’m sure you want to know about your people. Quite a few managed to escape, I ran into a group of them claiming someone from the Blood Court helped them. I brought them to the Winter Court for protection, they’re safe, they’re alive.” I spoke softly, resting my hand on hers reassuringly. Well, I _hoped_ it was reassuring anyway because I knew how… disconcerting my presence was.

“And my parents? What about them?” She looked slightly relieved, but at the mention of her parents, that worry was renewed. I wasn’t sure what to tell her as I hadn’t seen them that night in the Witchwoods and none of the others had either.

“I don’t know. I didn’t see them among the dead, but I can’t say for sure. I’m so sorry, Danica. I truly wish I had more helpful news for you.” I murmured. Danica nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing just a little as she thought about things for a moment.

“So there’s a chance they could still… Thank you, I really appreciate your kindness. And thank you for getting the survivors to the Winter Court, that means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

“It was the least I could do. It’s lucky that Jax had already met you, I was worried that it was going to take forever to find you. Now we just need to find the others.” Here came the part of our talk that I wasn’t looking forward to. I had to convince Danica to work with Keres and I wasn’t sure how this was going to go.

“The others? What do you mean?” Danica tilted her head, curious about my words.

“We need to find Ashlyn Amarais and Keres Artino. I’ve already spoken to Natalya of the Court of Bones before coming here. My mother, Queen Morrigan, has predicted that together, the five of us will take down the Blood Court Queen and return balance to the Faelands. Even as we sit here talking, there’s a darkness creeping through our homeland, eating away at all that there is. I can feel it and I know that you can, too.” I knew my face was twisted into a grim expression, I couldn’t help it really, these were grim times. And this conversation was about to get very heavy and charged with a lot of emotions.

“I’m not working with Keres. Her crazy mother is the reason my people are mostly gone! Why the hell would I work with the enemy?” Danica bristled at the mention of Keres, getting to her feet and taking a few steps away from the couch, her arms crossed over her chest.

“I completely understand your reservations, but she’s the reason that some of your people were able to get away. That young man who helped them? It was on orders of Keres. She’s been branded a traitor by her own mother and has a bounty out to bring her in dead or alive.” Speaking calmly seemed to help a tiny bit, but I could still see the anger and suspicion in her eyes. It did cause her to pause a moment to at least gather her thoughts, eyeing me warily as she pursed her lips.

“Why? What’s she playing at?”

I got to my feet, towering over the shorter Fae, my arms crossed over my chest as I glared down at her with a scowl on my face.I could understand her reservations to a point, but she didn’t know Keres and was making snap judgements just based off of who her mother was. “Are people not allowed to grow? To change their views? Keres is not Helena, Danica. Just as you aren’t your parents, she isn’t her mother.” I couldn’t help but be passionate as I spoke my feelings, and I saw Jax and Juice peeking into the room to make sure we weren’t about to throw down here in their living room.

“You’re right. I apologize. That was unworthy of me. I’m still not completely comfortable working with her, I will probably continue to have my reservations about it until she can prove to me otherwise, but I’ll try my best to get along with her.” Danica muttered, her cheeks bright pink with embarrassment over how she responded. “I need to make a trip to the Winter Court. I have to let my people know that while the King and Queen are still missing, I’m still alive and willing to do whatever I can to help.”

I gave a single nod and walked back towards Jax, letting him know I was going to be returning to the Celestial so I could get in some rest. He followed me outside after saying goodbye to Juice and snagged my hand in his, pulling me back over to him.

“Let me at least give ya a ride there darlin’.” He pressed a quick kiss to the side of my mouth before getting up on his bike. I put the helmet he handed me on and climbed up to sit behind him, my arms wrapping around his waist and held on tight as we roared off down the street.


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Jax and I got back to the hotel, I was positively famished, realizing I hadn’t exactly eaten much today aside from a simple pastry along with my coffee earlier. I felt my stomach growl hungrily, the sound much louder than I was anticipating, and I couldn’t help but blush as Jax started laughing.

“Hungry darlin’?”

“Starving honestly. Thankfully there’s a lovely Fae dinner just a couple buildings down, so I figured I’d get cleaned up and go grab a bite to eat,” I kissed his cheek quickly and handed him the helmet he let me borrow. “Thank you for giving me a ride back, you didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s no trouble darlin’, I was glad to do it. You want any company for dinner? I’ve gotta talk to you about somethin’ anyway.” Jax was leaning on the handlebars of his bake, a slight grin on his face.

“Sure, that would be lovely. Why don’t we pick something up and bring it back here? I’d rather be comfortable and relaxed while we eat and talk honestly.” I smiled brightly, eager to spend more time with him.

“Sounds like a plan. What are you in the mood for?”

“Mm… I’m not sure yet. Let me run up and change into something a little more comfortable, it’ll give me a chance to think it over and decide.” I popped up the stairs and into the hotel, Jax following after me and went over to talk to Ivy, apparently recognizing her immediately. I bounded up the stairs, eager to freshen up a tad, and breezed into my room, grabbing a pair of black shorts, a grey tank top with the logo of a Fae band I thoroughly enjoyed, and some cute flats Anubis had bought for me as a surprise last Yule. Once I was dressed and took off all the makeup, I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail, slapped on some foundation and basic ass eyeliner and a little lipgloss, then headed back down to meet up with Jax.

“Wow, you look… wow.” Jax’s eyes went wide when he and Ivy spotted me.

“You look so different! It’s a nice look for you.” Ivy was staring at me with shock. I looked almost like a normal human woman in this outfit and it clearly threw them off.

“I thought this might be a better look instead of the full blown gothic queen. That and it’s far more cooler, I was dying in the dress.” I grinned, shrugging a little bit.

“You decide what you want to eat?” Jax had finally snapped out of it, hurriedly pulling himself together, looking a touch sheepish at his reaction.

“I am dying for chicken wings honestly. That just sounds so good right now!” My stomach growled loudly again and Jax started laughing his ass off.

“Alright c’mon, let’s go feed you.”

~*~*~

Jax and I had gone down to Stockton to some place called Buffalo Wild Wings and I was absolutely in awe of the place. Compared to most human foods, these chicken wings were full of flavor and spice, leaving me far happier than I was expecting to be.

“Feel better?” Jax was grinning as he raised his beer to his lips, taking a long pull on the cold beverage while I nodded happily, practically dancing in my seat.

“Yes, so much better. Thank you,” I picked up my beer and took a sip, making a slight face. “So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?” I pushed the beer aside, less than pleased with that poor excuse of a drink.

“Yeah, uh, right. So I mentioned my ex-wife Wendy before right?” The look on his face had me worried: whatever he had to say must have been really important.

“Yes, you mentioned her once when we were communicating through the journal.” Where was he going with this? And why bring up Wendy? I could just feel my stomach knotting up with nervousness.

“Well what I didn’t mention was that she was pregnant. She overdosed on crank and had my son early. His name is Abel and he’s in the NICU at St. Thomas Hospital.”

The relief I felt was quickly overshadowed by sadness at the mention of his little boy coming prematurely. I knew of that happening among humans and sometimes to some of the Fae in the Court of Dreams, and the results always varied, though a lot of the outcomes weren’t near as good as the parents would hope.

“I’m so sorry, Jax. Is Abel going to be alright?” I reached over to put a hand on his, brow furrowed as I tried to think of something that I could do to help. The smile lighting his face up was warm with a certain sadness behind it and it broke my heart that this was something he had to experience.

“So far it seems like he’s gonna pull through. I was plannin’ on stoppin’ in tonight. Do you want to come with me?”

“I’d love that. I love children, I would volunteer in the care center in my court before I was appointed to the High Council so I could teach the little ones and spend time with them.” I smiled softly at the thought of time in the care center with the wee ones, rotating between the infant room and the older children rooms. It brought back a lot of good memories of home. Jax looked positively thrilled with my response as well as relieved, his shoulders less tense, his smile less sad than it had been even behind the warmth. He clearly didn’t expect my response but appreciated it nonetheless by the way he squeezed my hand in his.

“Really? That’s awesome, Nyx. So I guess you’re good with kids, huh?” Jax tossed some cash down onto the table after our waiter brought our check over, getting to his feet after finishing off his beer.

“Very much so, yes. Teaching was one of my favorite things about being in the court.” I replied, getting up to my feet and stretching, wincing a little as my back popped. Jax draped his arm over my shoulder, smirking as we passed a table of men who looked to be around our age, all of them stopping to stare as we walked past, checking me out openly, one of them whistling in appreciation. I rolled my eyes, but ignored him, nudging Jax when he stopped a second to say something.

“Ignore it, he’s not worth it.” I murmured, resting a hand on his bicep. He nodded and kept walking, making sure to keep his arm around me to show that we were together.

_Ahh the joys of dealing with testosterone driven shenanigans._ I shook my head, huffing slightly in annoyance. This was one thing I was glad to not have had to deal with back home. With Anubis, things were casual and there wasn’t any sort of jealousy there. Of course, we weren’t soulmates, either, so the bond was a different beast entirely than what Jax and I had. Ours was something deeper, more primal in nature, and it was a bitch to contain sometimes when emotions were charged like right now.

“Hey,” I reached over and turned his face so he’d look at me. “I’m not interested in anyone but you.” I pressed a tender kiss to his lips, taking him by surprise.

“Back at ya darlin’.”


End file.
